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With Christmas around the corner, people are rushing around to buy gifts for their loved ones. How many times have you received a gift that you did not really want, or need (think of that pair of green socks or that bar of unscented soap)?

God does not give reluctantly or hesitantly. He likes to go overboard when He blesses His children (also see post: More than enough). The ultimate gift that He gave mankind was His Son – Jesus. He is the only gift you will ever need, and without accepting this gift you will never truly be satisfied in life.

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.” Is 9:6

Jesus can mean all things to you and fulfill every need, no matter how specific it is. Whether you need a counselor to intercede for you, a mighty God to change an impossible situation, a loving father who never changes or a prince of peace who calms your soul – Jesus represents all of these persona’s and more. He is the only gift you will ever need.

To read more about the meaning of Jesus as the ultimate gift, see previous posts: God’s gift to us (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).

As previously posted, knowing God is the only substance that will ever satisfy you completely. Jesus speaks about this from a different angle in John 4.

“Jesus answered her, If you had only known and hand recognized Gods gift and Who this is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him [instead] and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10

“…But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.” John 4:14

His presence in our lives is like living water which will cause us to be completely satisfied and content (i.e. we’ll never thirst again). What’s more, He gives it freely! There is nothing to do except ask, and take a sip! Even just one drink is enough to change your live entirely. Once you’ve done that, an amazing transformation takes place inside you – you will yourself become a well of living water that continually flows and bubbles. Doesn’t it sound refreshing and invigorating?

John 7:39 tells us the living water He spoke of is the Holy Spirit. More about that in the next post!

In the previous two posts we spoke about the incredible gift God gave mankind in the sacrifice of Jesus. He saved us entirely – body, mind and soul. We’ve already established that faith in the sacrifice of Jesus leads to salvation of our souls and reconciliation with God. We’ve also established that Jesus took it upon himself to carry every sickness and disease in order for us to experience health. The third aspect of this complete salvation is the salvation of our minds.

Let’s look at Isaiah 53:5 again:

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.”

The highlighted part of the verse refers to our minds, and the fact that we can now enjoy peace. Peace of mind means calmness, composure and freedom from worries. It is a quiet place of contentment and joy, free from all depression, sadness and anxiety.

John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you.”

“May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Pet 1:2

A gift needs to be received in order to be enjoyed. We just need to realize God’s heart towards us, and how blessed we are the moment we are born again. We must get to know Jesus, who is God’s gift to us. It is knowing the Truth that will set us free, really and unquestionably free (John 8:32, 36)!

We’ve already established that God’s gift to mankind was Jesus. When He died on the cross He paid a complete price to save us – body, mind and soul. In the previous post we discussed the wonderful salvation of our souls. In this post I want to discuss the salvation of our bodies.

Isaiah 53:3 speaks of the cross of Jesus, and reads as follows:

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.”

Many Christians might read this and think: “This healing only refers to my heart”. The truth is – this verse was brought into context in Matthew 8. Jesus healed Peter’s mother, and afterwards “restored to health all who were sick”. Immediately after these events we read the following verse, which refers to Isaiah 53:5:

“And thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases.” Matt 8:17

We can therefore gladly accept the gift of healing which God gave us through Jesus Christ. It is just as real, and just as freely available, as the salvation of our souls.

Jesus referred to Himself as “God’s gift” (John 4:10). When you ask a Christian what this means, they will most probably tell you “He saved me”. This is definitely true, and it is the first and foremost point I want to talk about. But, we must not stop there. Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished even more than just salvation of our souls. God’s gift to us – Jesus – endured the worst possible torture hanging on that cross. He carried the weight of every single sin (past, present and future) so that we could once again be reconciled to God through faith in Him.

“Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you toGod] in the body of His flesh through death, in order topresent you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence.” Col 1:22

Through the gift He gave us, we are now irreproachable in God’s eyes. Irreproachable means to be blameless, faultless and innocent. It means we are pure, as if we have never sinned. Justified. Righteous.

“And He [ that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world.” 1 John 2:2

“Therefore, since we are justified ( acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord JesusChrist (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” Rom 5:1

The complete, finished work on the cross made eternal life possible for us. It removed all our sins and now presents as as pure, faultless souls before God.